The Green Park Stadium in Kanpur will enjoy an electrifying battle between Gujarat Lions and Mumbai Indians in the 54th match of the VIVO IPL 2016. The Lions are enjoying a fantastic debut IPL season with 8 victories in 13 matches and have all but made it to the playoffs. Defending champions Mumbai, however, are still unsure about whether they will make it to the final four and must win their last match to be eligible for the playoff stage. GL have been among the more consistent sides in the 2016 IPL and have played some great cricket so far. MI, on the other hand, have struggled to find consistency and have often faltered at crucial junctures in the tournament. It is expected to be a tight game as both teams will be aiming for a victory.
Here's how Gujarat Lions may line up for the match:
Batting
The Gujarat Lions have produced the most all-round batting performance among all teams playing in the IPL with almost all their batsmen delivering the goods. Aaron Finch has been in terrific form in the tournament and is their highest run-getter with 339 runs at an average of over 48. Skipper Suresh Raina also has the same run tally but has a lower average than that of Finch.
Openers Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith have both scored over 200 runs in the 2016 IPL and have given their team some blistering starts. Dinesh Karthik, too, has been consistent with 280 runs in his kitty including 3 half-centuries.
All-rounders
The two primary all-rounders who have played on a regular basis for GL in the current IPL are Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja. Although they have both done their job with the ball, they have been struggling to click with the bat. Another all-rounder James Faulkner has played just 7 matches this season.
Bowling
Bravo has been the leading wicket-taker for Gujarat with 13 wickets from 12 matches. Seamer Dhawal Kulkarni has been in very good form and has managed to claim 10 wickets so far at an economy of under 8. Praveen Kumar also seems to have rediscovered his form and has claimed 7 wickets including a match-winning performance.
Dwayne Smith came good with the ball in the team's previous match against KKR and delivered excellent figures of 4 for 8 to demolish the opposition batting line-up. The spinners have done quite well, too, with Jadeja, Pravin Tambe and Shivil Kaushik all picking up wickets for the Gujarat Lions.
Probable Playing XI
Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Aaron Finch, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Eklavya Dwivedi, Praveen Kumar, Pravin Tambe, Dhawal Kulkarni.
Let's take a look at how Mumbai Indians may line up for the match:
Batting
Skipper Rohit Sharma has been the top run-scorer for Mumbai Indians in the 9th edition of the IPL. Sharma has scored 459 runs so far at an average of just under 46 with 5 half-centuries to show for his efforts. Ambati Rayudu has played his part, too, with 334 runs so far which include a couple of match-winning knocks.
Krunal Pandya has managed to steal the show in his debut season with 233 runs at an average of almost 47 and a phenomenal strike-rate 192.56. Kieron Pollard has also managed to return to form with 198 runs till now despite struggling in his first few matches. Jos Buttler has also done pretty decently in his first IPL season with over 200 runs.
All-rounders
The senior of the Pandya brothers, Krunal, has easily been MI's best all-rounder this season with quite a number of runs with the bat and 6 wickets at an economy rate of just above 7. Hardik Pandya, however, has been a big disappointment with just 37 runs with the bat and 3 wickets in 10 matches. Pollard's all-round skills have been largely unused in the tournament.
Bowling
The bowling has been quite impressive from the MI pacers with Mitchell McCleanaghan and Jasprit Bumrah leading the way for them. McCleanaghan is the current Purple Cap holder with 17 wickets whereas Bumrah has given him good company with 14 wickets thus far. Kiwi pacer Tim Southee has also done well with 9 wickets in 11 matches.
Lead spinner Harbhajan Singh has not been at his best in the current IPL with just 8 wickets in 13 games. Krunal Pandya has provided a great boost to the spin attack, though, with some economical bowling and a few wickets as well. None of the other bowlers in the squad have had much of a role to play till now.
Probable Playing XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Martin Guptill, Krunal Pandya, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Jos Buttler (wk), Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McCleanaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, Nathu Singh.
